Scripted Resolution
by BeesInTheCar
Summary: Memories can haunt and memories can heal. But what happens when one is forced to relive a memory entirely as means of life or death. What is the right choice? ***future lemons***
1. Chapter 1

Every part of Gajeel hated being in Magnolia. The only reason the man was even there was to get a rise out of Fairytail. Him destroying the guild wasn't enough, and as per Jose's orders, he was to find another way to get a rise out of them. He could think of a few ways that were more civil, but had heard a rumor long ago that Fairytail actually cared deeply for each and every one of it's members. Weak or strong. He knew they would defend their own to the very end. The smell of alcohol and heavy oak from Fairytail still well engraved into his mind. He would easily be able to find any member of Fairytail by that scent alone. _Scumbag fairies_

As night fell on Fairytail, he soon began his hunt for his targets. Someone to set an example of to antagonize the perceived rival guild. He'd already picked the perfect location to leave his carnage behind. The very image of it bringing a smirk to his face. With no intentions on getting caught, he had to find someone who was outside of the guild, and out of the public eye. Almost silently he was able to travel on the rooftops of Magnolia, staying within a few blocks of the heavily damaged Fairytail guild hall. His patience wearing ever thinner as the hours passed and not a single guild member exited the building unaccompanied.

Midnight finally struck, leaving the man ready to attack anyone strictly out of his own impatience and annoyance. A faint scent found his nose as it traveled lightly on the breeze. It was that of Fairytail, but was somehow mixed and smelled like that of paper and dust and something he couldn't put his finger on. He needed it, regardless of what it was and almost unwillingly, he followed it. He followed the scent on the wind until eventually coming across a darkened alley. The sounds of a small group of people noisily making their way through it catching Gajeel's attention. Two men walking on either side of a small woman came into his view. A sharp pang hit him in the chest, clouding his vision for a moment before he shook it off. He genuinely had no intentions of dealing with any size group of guild members, but he found himself making an exception for this small gang.

Looking around and seeing no one else around, Gajeel made quick work of the two men. Neither of them putting up even so much as a fight to the iron dragon slayer. They were easily rag dolled away and beaten to near pulps within only a few seconds leaving a cocky smile across the man's face as his vision was stained red. _Weak idiots_. The woman was his last target. As he turned to begin his assault on her, he was hit hard by the scent he'd followed. The smell taking over all of his senses and feeling as though it were blinding him as his vision returned to color. His sudden urge to dispose of the guild members he'd come across causing him to become mentally conflicted and frustrating him deeply. He needed this scent. He could feel it in his bones. He needed the person it was attached to and he wanted it desperately. The feeling left a knot in his stomach. He was quickly hit across the face by words scripted in the air, snapping him out of his conflict and within a second, he was able to do away with the blue haired woman. Her body limply laying on the ground as fresh blood dripped steadily from her head. The smell instantly making the iron dragon slayer sick to his stomach.

He was easily able to drag the bodies of the two men of Fairytail, carrying the woman as carefully as he could. He bolted the two men to the tall, old tree readily and even left them with a few extra bruises and gashes for good measure. Carefully, he lifted the blue haired woman up. The smell of her blood filling his nose and making him cringe even more. Her limp body in his arms filling him with regret. With far more caution, he bolted her up to the tree..._sorry._.. The crucifixion he'd left on the tree, leaving him completely unsatisfied and with regret. Something he'd not had in a long time. Carefully he drew his guild insignia over her stomach able to feel her soft, bruised skin under his fingertips. He could hear her heartbeat. The beating in her chest light and unsteady. She would be lucky to survive and he knew it. As he walked away, he turned around for a moment. He watched as the small woman flinched and convulsed slightly, making him grit his teeth. He could hear the death rattles coming from her as his vision went red again and he left the small trio to die in the tree he'd left them in as morning peered over Magnolia.

* * *

Levy could feel the air being forced out of her body as heavy arms locked against her tightly. It was almost suffocating as the studs in Gajeel's heavy arms began to bore holes into her skin. She was certain her bones might break this time. She violently kicked and hit Gajeel's arms as she tried to get him to wake up. Her screams being squeezed out of her as his grip tightened. "..Ga...Gajeel...please..." she managed to whisper out as his grip tightened even more. She was becoming lightheaded as her kicks weakened and a growl reverberated from deep in Gajeel's chest.

"LEVY!" Pantherlily shouted loudly as he kicked the door to the bedroom open. His full Exceed form ready to take on the dragon slayer as he quickly grabbed hold of Gajeel's arms and removed them from Levy's body, giving the bluenette a small window of opportunity to crawl out of the tight grip the man had on her.

The sudden lack of warmth from Levy's body snapping Gajeel awake instantly. His vision having gone red as he could smell her, but couldn't see her or hear her. Instead, he felt a strong grip holding tightly to him. His body instantly going into fight mode as he and Pantherlily engaged into combat. The Exceed had the slight advantage as the dragon slayer was laying in bed. Forcing him to be face down, Pantherlily held tightly to Gajeel as the man began to scream out angerly and began to thrash about. The Exceed pinning the dragon slayer's arms to his back. The red from Gajeel's eyes beginning to brighten the room.

"She's gonna die up there!" Gajeel screamed out "I gotta get her down! What the fuck was I thinking!"

"Gajeel wake up! She's fine! She's right here!" Pantherlily shouted, feeling Gajeel's skin beginning to become cold as silver scales began to slowly appear as the dragon slayer's hackles rose "Levy! Hurry up!" Pantherlily shouted as he slowly was being outmatched by his pinned comrade.

Air returning to her, Levy quickly scurried from the floor to the bedside, grabbing hold of Gajeel's head and wrapping it in her arms. The iron dragon's breathing becoming almost painful with how audible it was. "Gajeel..." she said quietly "I'm okay. I'm right here." she said as she covered his ears with her hands. The loud sound of her blood running through her veins deafening the dragon slayer slightly as the sound of her heartbeat eventually filled his ears. The bright red his eyes had turned seeming to relax and die down as his retracted pupils slowly dilated and returned to a more normal look. His skin returned to it's normal state along side his breathing.

When he finally came to, Gajeel panicked, tossing Pantherlily off of him and rushing towards Levy, checking the small bluenette over in every spot he'd hurt her before letting his head drop almost shamefully when he spotted nothing. Gently, Levy brought his head and mass of black hair into her chest as the man flinched nervously. He carefully brought a hand up to meet her's. He growled lowly as he opened his eyes and stared at the ground. His teeth gritting loudly.

"...this is fucking pathetic..." he said. The trio in the room relaxing knowing that Gajeel was now awake.

"It certainly is a wake up call." Pantherlily said as he rose from the bed and began walking out of the bedroom, rubbing his now small paws that were slightly bruised from dealing with Gajeel's hardened skin "Are you good?"

Gajeel nodded as he leaned back onto his bed, rubbing his face as he let his arms fall heavily to his sides. The tops of his hands hitting the old hardwood flooring. Levy looked to Pantherlily and smiled, the gesture being enough for the Exceed to take his leave, shutting the door behind him as he went. With the door now closed, Levy scooted herself closer to Gajeel and sat directly across from him and smiled. A few of the man's black hairs having fallen into his face, she moved them softly. The gesture seeming almost as though it were painful to the dragon slayer as he shut his eyes hard and leaned slightly into her touch.

"Same dream?" Levy asked as she grabbed Gajeel's hand and tugged him upwards, trying to get him to his feet. Gajeel nodded, silently brooding to himself. "That was a long time ago Gajeel. I know you'd never do that again." Gajeel didn't respond, instead he let Levy drag him to where ever she so pleased. In this instance, it was back into bed. She crawled back into bed with him. Her small frame easily being overtaken by his. She grabbed his hand and lay a small kiss between his knuckles bringing a small smirk across the man's brooding face. "We'll go talk to someone tomorrow, okay?" Levy then said as she curled comfortably into Gajeel.

"Yeah. Sure." Gajeel said knowing full well, that this was his own personal relived hell.

It wasn't the first time he'd been stuck on repeat of this scene. Levy had forgiven him long ago for what he did during his Phantom Lord days, yet for what ever reason he would relive that specific moment in time. It almost always ended the same way. Pantherlily bursting into the room and Levy having to inevitably calm him down and bring the man back to his senses. Sometimes these moments took mere seconds. Other times, they took what felt like an eternity. Before Pantherlily was there, the man would simply go into a fit of rage and destroy his home before inevitably waking up to him home being turned nearly upside down. Despite being hurt by Gajeel, Levy always seemed okay with what had happened and constantly reassured the dragon slayer that he was okay and that she trusted him fully. Since joining Fairytail, Gajeel had been trying his damnedest to make sure he could at least harbor her trust. The man being more than happy to jump into the line of fire so long as it meant Levy would be safe, yet for what ever reason, he struggled with a scene in his past he could never remove. It followed him like a shadow he didn't want. Gajeel had murdered innocent and guilty men and women without so much as a second thought. Their faces occasionally popping up in his head, but never so much as phasing him as they were "just a part of life" he would say. But something about the very idea of hurting Levy haunted him.

Despite a great deal of time having passed and the little script mage having gone from staying at her dorm room to his home almost daily and their lives being built together slowly but surely, the dreams never seemed to get better. In fact, one could say that they were becoming worse. Where he once would simply stress himself to the point of panic in his sleep, he'd now left several unintentional marks on Levy's skin. Something he hated himself more for given his vow to never let that happen.

The pair lay silently in the room as they attempted to go back to sleep. Gajeel looking over the features of Levy's face carefully before finding a bare patch of skin on her shoulder with a bruising hole clearly bored into it from one of the studs on his arms. He furrowed his brow at the image and sighed. When his eyes returned to Levy's face, she was staring right back at him. She lightly ran her fingers over the metal studs on his face. The sensation feeling almost like a spark of electricity that ran straight to the back of his head and sent shivers down his spine. In truth, those studs had always been where they were and made his senses more acute. Levy's gentle touch was no exception to this rule, and Gajeel relished in those light grazes.

"Go to bed Gajeel, okay?" Levy said softly, place a soft kiss on the stud adorning the man's chin and without question, Gajeel closed his eyes. Relying only on his ears, he could hear Levy's heart beating strong and her breathing level. She was fine. Tomorrow would be a new day with hopefully new answers and hopefully solutions to help the man overcome that which troubled him the most.


	2. Chapter 2

"Holy crap Gajeel. You smell awful!" Natsu said boisterously as he slammed his hands on the bar top "You lose a fight or somethin'?"

Gajeel ignored he pink haired slayer, focusing instead on a few bits of food prepared for him by Mirajane. Natsu waited for a response for a minute. Eventually realizing that he was being ignored by his fellow guild mate. Without even a second thought, the pink haired slayer grabbed the largest piece of meat from Gajeel's plate and scarfed it down happily. Gajeel side eyed Natsu as his brow furrow and the annoyance on his face began to immediately show. Natsu's actions seeming as though he were trying to pick a fight. Something that Gajeel already knew and was in no way wanting to deal with at the moment. The iron dragon slayer simply wanted to brood in silence as he waited for Levy to return from her usual runnings.

"The least you could do, is answer." Natsu said happily as he reached for another item on Gajeel's plate "You seriously smell like...anxiety?" Natsu then said in a questioning way as a smirk crossed his face. Despite the smell not being noticeable by your average person, the smell was immediately identifiable by anyone with an acute sense of smell. Dragon slayers were no exception to that rule. It could be noted that any dragon slayer worth his salt would use his opponents smell against them to strategize, where intentional or not. Depending on exactly what they were smelling, would determine how much they would harass their opponents or in this case, comrades.

Gajeel quickly grabbed Natsu's arm and tossed it away from his food. Not even a hint of caring on Natsu's face, the pink haired slayer was more than ready to pick a fight with Gajeel. Guarding his food more carefully, the iron slayer responded, "You don't exactly smell like roses yourself, Salamander."

Natsu laughed loudly, bringing the attention of the guild to the two men at the bar. Nearly everyone at the guild getting ready to move out of the way should the two begin to fight, "Beats what ever you smell like!"

"Ha! I'd rather smell like the way I do, than smell like you." Gajeel said as he rose from his seat. The pettiness of the argument making several others in the guild rub their foreheads and shake their heads.

"Yeah?" Natsu said as he happily cracked his knuckles and readied himself for a fight "And what do I smell like?"

Gajeel grinned widely as he mimicked the action, "Like your girlfriend's pus-"

"AND that's enough of that. Been lookin' for ya metalhead." Bickslow said loudly, using his height to bring Gajeel into somewhat of a headlock as he dragged the iron slayer away from the bar. Bickslow's totems quickly shoveling the remaining plate of food on top of one another and followed the seith mage closely.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Natsu shouted, feeling the sudden need to defend his own pride. As he gave slight chase to the two men now exiting the guild hall, he slammed straight into Laxus. The tall blonde looking down at him with a scowl "You're in the way Laxus!"

"Grow up a little, Natsu." Laxus said, brushing the encounter off his shoulder as he continued to block the fire slayer's path. Laxus spotted Lucy attempting not to notice Natsu's little prideful starts to a rampage "Hey Blondie! Come get pinky over here." Laxus said mockingly, picking fun at the smaller slayer.

"S-sorry. I'm not getting involved." a nervous smile creeped across Lucy's face as the words fell from her mouth.

Natsu immediately turned to Lucy, looking completely confused at the words she just said, "Whaddya mean?! Did you hit your head or somethin'?! You're a part of the team!" Natsu said as he quickly made his way over to Lucy and attempted to rally her for a fight as well. Lucy braced herself as low to the ground as she could to prevent herself from being dragged away, and in doing so, knocked into Gray who was already annoyed at the entire situation to start. Thus starting the typical chain reaction any member of Fairytail had become accustomed to: unnecessary brawls.

* * *

Gajeel and Bickslow walked the streets of Magnolia, headed in no particular direction. Despite their interactions seeming few and far between, the two men were well acquainted with each other as far as things that were "strictly business" were concerned outside of Fairytail. The two men having had several run ins during the trips Bickslow would occasionally make to Oak town alone. Red light districts being some of Bickslow's favorites to find lost souls, or souls that he knew would go unnoticed. The seith mage constantly mixing business and pleasure for his own personal gain. The two men unintentionally becoming acquainted through a fateful night for one of Phantom Lord's rookie wizards. The young wizard bouncing between suicidal thoughts and hopelessness, Bickslow felt he was doing the man a favor in helping him disappear "peacefully" under some bridge as flashes of bright green and the sound of laughing totems quietly rang. The seith mage not seeing any point in letting renegade lost souls create darkness anywhere that he could help. Gajeel happened to catch the entire thing as he followed the rookie annoyed at the young wizard's attitude and ready to straighten it out. Unable to identify what guild Bickslow may have belonged to, the iron dragon slayer took the encounter as nothing more than "dog eat dog". He felt no remorse for the rookie and could see the seith mage as possibly being beneficial for wiping out those he considered too weak. It was silent, and mess free. When he and Bickslow made eye contact, neither man said anything. A sort of mutual understanding that they had both been there for the same purpose and neither considered it a harm or foul. Unable to get Bickslow to join Phantom Lord for reasons that remained unknown to him, Bickslow would always decline. He would at least privately contract the seith mage. Even if Bickslow's mannerisms and actions could easily blend into any less than morally high faction.

When Gajeel finally joined Fairytail, he was surprised to see the familiar character happily drinking within a small group of whom Gajeel would learn was the Thunder God legion. Bickslow made formal introductions, equally as surprised to see the iron slayer sitting darkly in a corner alone in his guild hall. The seith mage playing dumb to the entire situation, he would maintain his demeanor with Gajeel with prying eyes about. As time went on, Gajeel's contacts with some of the lowest of the low in Oak town never ceased and the iron slayer was kept well in the loop of who around Fiore was needing to be dealt with silently. He maintained the names of those who were to be considered the filthiest of scum: mob bosses, crooked, dealers, free to roam rapists and molesters and murderers. Any one who may have had some sort of higher profile and feasted on the weak, yet couldn't be dealt with in a highly public manner. Bickslow's magic in dealing with the human soul wasn't something that was taken lightly by any council member, and was something considered taboo, if not entirely forbidden. Bickslow would always need an endless supply of souls, and Gajeel forever felt as though he would need to provide atonement for his actions in the past. If he couldn't do it himself, he would do it in such a way that would silently bring peace. Gajeel's affiliations with the lowest moral characters was eventually replaced with more morally upright people acting almost as spies, aiding in finding far more ill willed people than imaginable. It was a somewhat symbiotic relationship between the two men, even if it was almost as though they were playing into an assassins guild, rather than an upstanding one.

"SO." Bickslow stated as the two men walked "A little bookworm said you had a bad night." Bickslow had become well aware of the personal demons that haunted Gajeel long before Levy had said anything to him, though he hardly understood why the iron slayer let them bother him so much. Bickslow clearly able to see the dark shades that buzzed around Gajeel's soul.

"Of course she did." Gajeel responded as he attempted to grab part of his unfinished meal from one of the happily zooming totems. His attempts being thwarted as the small totem laughed and went higher into the air "She seems to think you can help somehow."

Bickslow laughed loudly, "What does she want me to do? I mean, I can get in your head sure, but that ain't gonna help you figure out how to move passed anything. Not like you accept the offers anyway."

Gajeel grunted in an annoyed tone, "... the last thing I want, is you messin' around in my head, freak."

Bickslow threw his arms up in the air, "What's the worst I could possibly do in that head of your's?" Bickslow then continued as a wide toothy smile crossed his face, his tongue carelessly dropping from between his teeth.

"Gee I wonder...there was a reason I tried to get you into Phantom Lord back in the day..." Gajeel said, watching as Bickslow's totems continued to zoom around the air with the slayer's plate of food.

"HA! Yeah wouldn't that have been somethin'. Here we are now though. Couple of questionable fairies. As much as I would seriously LOVE to have a dragon slayer in my arsenal of souls, I still got my loyalties to Fairytail, even if I get bored sometimes. I will say this though. You should be glad you've got little Levy willing to look passed everything. Take the help where you can get it. She's a good one. " Bickslow responded, slamming the dragon slayer hard on the back.

"...yeah...still feels stupid being this kinda weak. Never dealt with it before." Gajeel responded as he removed a few slips of paper from his pocket and rubbed his forehead.

"What? You mean you gotta moral conscience now? Who woulda thought ya prideful shit. All those talks with Belno must finally be gettin' to ya." Bickslow responded, as he slyly grabbed the slips of papers from Gajeel and quickly hid them away before placing a small vile into Gajeel's hand "Look. The offer still stands. If you DO ever wanna see what we can do in your head, let me know. I may deal with human souls, but the shit I can see, isn't always human. It can be some dark stuff. I still got a job to do protecting innocent people and if you do let your soul get consumed, well...you'll be high on my priorities list."

"Yeah..." Gajeel responded, looking at the small corked bottle. The dark brown liquid in it pungent enough for the dragon slayer to smell outside of the vile. It made him wrinkle his nose slightly. It wasn't an offensive odor, just strong "What is this?"

As Bickslow walked away munching away at the food his totems had stolen from Gajeel, he turned around quickly stepping backwards in a fashion that seemed almost jester like, "Vetiver oil. Don't drink it. Just smell it or have your little bookworm rub ya down with some at night. It'll help you relax a little and sleep."

Gajeel again looked at the vile again before eyeing Bickslow down once more, "How do I know you aren't lying and this is some sort of drug to knock me out?"

Bickslow slumped his stance, rolling his eyes behind his mask, "Welp. If it is, blame Porlyusica. She gave me some of that stuff a long time ago. She does hate humans though...so I mean...maybe it is. Look how screwed up I am after all."

Looking down at the vile, Gajeel again could smell the fumes leaving it. Looking up for a final time to say his goodbyes to Bickslow, he realized the man was gone. Looking around, all he saw were the many towns people busily headed every which way. The day getting later as the sun would soon begin it's decent back to the horizon. Gajeel would make his way back to the guild hall, exiting as soon as he walked in as he saw the shambles it had been left in by the brawling guild mates and failing to smell Levy there at all. He smirked as the doors shut behind him. There was no way Levy would stop and stay at the guild in this condition. Given that she was with Pantherlily, he knew they would both make their way to the small cottage Gajeel called home near the outskirts of town.

* * *

The walk the dragon slayer made back home was uneventful: exactly how he liked them. The closer he got to his home, the stronger Levy's smell became. Even if he never showed it, he always became more excited to have the small blunette anywhere near him. Having her in his home was exactly where he wanted her. The first time she had done that, his heart nearly pounded out of his chest and he wasn't sure why. Every time she was there afterwards, the feeling never subsided. A feeling he would never get used to. As he approached the door, he could hear Levy's attempts at singing as music quietly played. He opened the door quietly and entered with pure stealth, feeling no need to hide in the shadows to enter his own home.

"Levy...I don't believe that goes into the dish" Pantherlily said. The small exceed dusting the flour off his paws as the sound of sizzling food sounded in the home. The aromatic scent being pleasant, yet unusual.

Levy laughed, "Look Lily. I'm pretty darn good at memorizing things, okay? Cinnamon definitely goes in it."

The conversation Pantherlily and Levy were having made Gajeel close his eyes. He might care deeply for Levy, but her cooking was something he felt always left something to be desired. It was never awful, just always off in one way or another. He walked through his living room quietly, passing a small stack of books that Levy must've picked up while she was running around town. His ability to read the common tongue was much better thanks to Levy, however, he still didn't understand the many languages Levy seemed to grasp in a heartbeat. Seeing that the first book on the stack was in a foreign tongue, he made his way straight for the kitchen.

Pantherlily was flipping through the pages of what was a cookbook, "Levy, meat pies don't call for cinnamon."

"It's already in, so there!" Levy said with a smile on her face as she gently placed spoonfuls of meat into the carefully prepared rolls Pantherlily had made. Gajeel's face immediately twisted. The iron slayer knew how to make a decent meat pie. Cinnamon definitely had no place in one.

"Gajeel. Tell her." Pantherlily stated as soon as he notice the iron slayer in the home as he crossed his arms over his tiny chest, shutting the book in annoyance as he watched the destruction of his carefully constructed rolls.

"He ain't wrong, shrimp." Gajeel said as he grabbed the tiny blunette from behind, letting his chin rest heavily on Levy's head. Her smell clearing his senses in just the way he liked: completely. The far smaller woman quickly placed the tray full of questionable meat pies into the stone oven.

"Well. They're already cooking, so there." she said proudly as she wiped her hands off and turned around to face Gajeel. Her small arms wrapped around the midpoint of Gajeel's chest as she looked upwards at him. The slayer carefully muzzled down onto her forehead, making her smile happily "Were you able to talk to Bickslow today?" she asked as she let him go and walked out of the kitchen.

Gajeel looked over at Pantherlily. The exceed seeming annoyed that Gajeel didn't stop Levy or even correct her for using the wrong ingredients in what was sure to be a filling meal. Gajeel shrugged as he followed Levy out of the kitchen, leaving Pantherlily to watch the now cooking food, "I did meet him, yeah." Gajeel answered.

"Oh good! Was he able to help you out?" Levy asked as she moved lightly up the staircase and towards Gajeel's room, the blunette undressing from her usual day wear in exchange for one of Gajeel's many over sized shirts.

Gajeel shrugged, "Yeah. I guess." he responded as pulled the vile out of his pocket, setting it down on his nightstand. When he looked back at Levy, the woman had already begun pulling out one of the man's shirts from his closet. He smirked at the sight "You know, you can just reuse the one you took yesterday, right?"

Levy shrugged, "Well yeah. But I slept in that one." she responded as she tied the excess of the large shirt into a small knot, effectively giving herself a slight belly shirt and sure enough, leaving a mass of wrinkles on his shirt where she had tied the knot.

"So what? It's still clean." Gajeel said as he dressed down before throwing himself onto his bed. Levy happily lay next to him, twisting her small limbs around him as best as possible. Gajeel quickly bringing her in closer.

"SO it got all sweaty." she responded as her face twisted slightly in disgust, her fingers lightly dragging over each of the studs on the man's face as he sighed heavily at the feeling letting his eyes close happily as he relaxed under the feeling. "I know you hate this Gajeel...but I found a job for you to go out on."

He quickly shot an eye open, "Let me guess. You need me to trail Jet and Droy..." he responded, wanting to be angry yet unable to be under the sensations her fingers left on his stud and skin.

Levy smiled, "How'dya guess?"

"You know those two can handle themselves right?" Gajeel said as he rolled over to face Levy.

"Yeah, but I still worry about them."

"I see that. When do we leave then?"

"Tomorrow if that's okay." Levy said as she sat up, running her fingers through Gajeel's mess of hair.

Gajeel groaned at the idea. He didn't hate going out with Jet and Droy, but he certainly felt like no more than a babysitter when it came to any jobs involving the two other men. Both so obsessed with control and complaining that they often times became a liability themselves, leaving Gajeel to save them and pull the job back together. "You gonna stay here with Lily than?"

"Yep!" Levy responded cheerfully, kissing the man gently on his forehead. The small gesture being enough to bring Gajeel to an upright position. Even if the man were annoyed, he would never be able to be angry at Levy. No fiber of his being able to be even if he wanted to be. Levy stood up happily as the sound of another song started up from the living room. She began dancing in place to the sound, her hands holding Gajeel's tightly and coaxing him upright. Despite the style not being his first choice by any means, he would still humor her. Her eyes never broke contact with his as she danced erratically to the song, the wide smile on her face bringing a smirk out of Gajeel. The awkward smell of cinnamon, meats, and pastries slowly filling the air.


	3. Chapter 3

Levy watched as Gajeel readied a small bag to leave. He was less than enthusiastic to have to travel with Jet and Droy. The two men of team Shadowgear being far too clumsy for his taste. He had no idea how the Shadowgear trio was able to make even a single jewel given how chaotic their methods tended to be. Levy really was the leader of the small band and was certainly the glue that held them all together. Gajeel would never admit to it, but he thoroughly enjoyed the pseudo suffering he caused the two men, knowing that their beloved bookworm was all his and that they would be stuck with him before Levy more often than not. Gajeel had no qualms in picking up the slack in Levy's rent at Fairy Hills given how often he was out with Jet and Droy, as opposed to her.

"You don't have to look THAT miserable Gajeel." Levy said as she buried herself in the heavy bed sheets. The side of the bed the dragon slayer was laying on still warm as she let herself sink into the area.

"Meh...It's easy money at least...just hoping those two can keep their act together." Gajeel said, tossing the now readied bag to the side. He reviewed the job request in his hands as he lay on the bed, letting Levy curl up behind him. His brow furrowing slightly as he read the request "'Large pard wanted for destruction of property and loss of livestock. Must be kept alive. Belongs to travelling caravan. Bring a cage'...Gonna assume I'm bringing the cage." Gajeel said with a smirk on his face, sitting up quickly as his ears picked up on the footsteps that were slowly making their way up to his home.

"How'd ya know?" Levy said with a wide, sleepy smile.

"Lucky guess." Gajeel knelt over the small blunette, pressing his forehead steadily into her's as he placed a light kiss on her lips. The gentle sounds of a knocking at the front door bringing a sly smirk to the dragon slayer's face as his light kiss suddenly turned into an assault on the side of Levy's neck. The sensation making the script mage squirm as she giggled and tried to press the far larger man away. The feeling of his cold studs and warm skin always sending the woman's senses into a slight confused frenzy as he nipped carefully with his canines. It was the man's way of letting the world know she was his, even if he would never think to show such actions publicly. For all the man's gusto and bravado, he was still incredibly reserved and almost shy when it came to showing affections.

"Gajeel..." Levy said as she suppressed a laugh, pushing her hand into the man's chest "We don't have time for that right now." The knocking at the front door becoming slightly louder as it again rang throughout the house.

"There's always time for THAT." he exclaimed in an almost demanding tone "Can't make little hellions without it after all." His words immediately made Levy blush and almost curl in on herself. The pair had spoken on having children once. The talk initially making Gajeel twist and turn. The dragon slayer now held it over Levy's head. Neither party truly serious about having children at the moment, but it still caused Levy some angst and he would live to never let her live that statement down.

"No, Gajeel...there really isn't time." Pantherlily said quietly. The exceed keeping his back turned to the pair as the sounds and smells of the two men of Shadowgear invaded Gajeel's home. Pantherlily having taken the time to open the door to the home to stop the aggravating knocks.

Gajeel sneered lowly as he could hear the two men making their way up the stairs, likely to pay Levy a visit before the awkward trio would depart. He would have no part of that. The bedroom was filled heavily with Levy's scent and he would never let that be tainted. Placing a kiss heavily on the script mages lips, he quickly gathered his belongings and walked out of the bedroom. The sounds of Jet and Droy nearly colliding with Gajeel making Levy laugh quietly as she listened to him almost shuffle the two other men down the stairs. She listened as Gajeel's heavy steps made their way across the wooden floors of his home, followed at a distance by the lightly treading Jet and porkish Droy. The light patter of Pantherlily followed them as they left the home and once they exited, the exceed happily locked the door before zooming into the bed with Levy. No matter how much of a warrior the exceed was, he was still a cat, and soft warmth would forever be his muse. Levy wrapped her arms around the small cat, bringing him in to her chest as the two fell back asleep. The early morning hours still begging the two to rest longer.

Gajeel walked and brooded as he reluctantly headed to the outskirts of Magnolia. A small band of carriages happily awaiting their first customers for the day. He listened in silence as Jet and Droy bickered amongst themselves as to how they were going to fulfill the job request at hand. Both men seeming to have a scheme of their own. Neither mans plan would bring a result, let alone a quick result.

"Look. Pards are quick. Wild cats aren't that bright. We'll just play 'cat and mouse'. I'll let it chase me till it exhausts itself, then, you can use your vines to wrap it up, and we can get Gajeel to put it in a cage." Jet said proudly as he hailed down a carriage. Quickly tossing his belongings in the back of the wagon.

"I think we should wait and ambush it. I'll make a cage out of vines, you chase it into the trap, then Gajeel can trap it." Droy responded as Jet tried to help the portly man into the wagon.

Gajeel sighed, "We ain't doing either of those plans."

Jet rolled his eyes as Droy fumbled into the wagon, "What are we doing than GAJEEL."

"Cats like an easy meal. You're gonna run around the woods with some fresh bait on ya. Once you're being hunted down, you're gonna run into a cage with Droy who will also be baited. Cat runs in, I shut the door. Job over." the dragon slayer stated confidently, his arms crossed over his chest.

"...yeah what ever..." Droy responded "Are you going to get in Gajeel?"

Gajeel's confident expression immediately dropped as he reluctantly entered the wagon. His stomach immediately turning inside out at the ideal of even having to ride in the wheeled vehicle. The next several hours to the trio's destination being annoyingly filled with Jet and Droy's banter, all the while leaving Gajeel to sulk pitifully.

* * *

After Levy and Pantherlily had woken for the final time in the morning, they quickly got ready in their own ways. Levy becoming careless in how she did her hair, almost mimicking her black haired slayer. Pantherlily quietly prepared breakfast for the pair of them. The exceed not wanting to endure Levy's unforgivable way of destroying perfectly simple meals. The routine worked for the two of them. While Pantherlily prepared a small meal, Levy would settle herself into the small stack of books she'd picked up the previous day. Even without glasses, the blunette was more than capable of breezing through the books at almost record speeds.

Even when brought food to eat, she would still stay focused on the texts in front of her, nibbling slowly at each piece of food. Having a warrior's appetite, Pantherlily would never leave food sitting for more than a few minutes, often scarfing down his food quickly as per his past training. He would sit happily in Levy's lap as she continued to read. The texts she'd chosen for the day holding no real significance. They were merely words to keep her abilities to translate and decipher texts keen. She enjoyed giving herself the mini tests, keeping herself ever educated on damn near any topic she could. When she finally reached the final text she'd picked up, she immediately became flustered. The exceed in her lap noticing instantly.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he moved next to Levy. The blunette bringing her knees up to her chest as she brought the dusty book closer to her face.

Levy shook her head, "You know Lily...I can read a book as easily as Gajeel can eat a fork...but...I never understand how to help him as far as his 'issues' goes...I moved forward kinda easily...why can't he?" she stated as Pantherlily read the title of the book she held in her hands: Psychological Traumas

The exceed sat lightly on Levy's shoulder as she read a specific chapter carefully, "It's the stubbornness of man Levy. He's no ordinary man either. To him, you're his mate. Something he's known since the second he caught your smell. It's something that haunts him in a way differently than you slowly falling for him."

Levy shrugged, "I guess. There's got to be an answer...even if it just brings him a little bit of mental peace."

"He's certainly lucky you care so deeply for him" Pantherlily said. His ears twitching lightly as the sound of someone whistling a nonsense tune moved closer to the door "...are you sure this is really the route you want to take though?"

"Answers are answers, right?" Levy said. The sound of giggling outside the front door letting both her and Pantherlily know their guest had arrived. Levy closed the book and placed it down on top of the stack she'd picked up. The book containing no answers she was looking for. When she opened the door, she was quickly pushed out of the way by a barrage of wooden totems. Each one laughing as they zoomed around Gajeel's home carelessly. Pantherlily sat on the sofa, ignoring them as best as possible despite being repeatedly bumped into by two of them. Their painted faces adding to the harassment. Levy turned her attention back to the world outside as the man of the hour smoked happily, flicking the cigarette far from the home "Good morning, Bickslow."

The seith mage smiled widely as his tongue fell from his mouth. The man always sent a bit of a chill up Levy's spine and she was never really sure why. His actions in the past showing that he really lacked any loyalties to anyone when he was bored only added to the feeling. Yet he was the first and only person to walk up to Levy and Gajeel and offer even the slightest bit of help. Levy readily accepted any sort of help, however, she knew Gajeel never would. Even if it killed her, she would figure out how to help her dragon slayer. She knew Bickslow's affiliations with souls. She also knew that the man was beyond familiar with black magic and used it regularly. In everything Levy researched about black magic, she was certain the seith mage would at least have something in his arsenal to help her, legal or otherwise. Bickslow walked carefully into the house. A small satchel draped over his shoulder, pressing his cape down against his back slightly. He carefully set it down on the coffee table that sat in the middle of the living area before seating himself heavily onto the sofa, "Mornin' bookworm. You ready?"

Levy looked to Pantherlily. The exceed's hackles raising slightly as Bickslow's totem's all sat down calmly next to the seith mage, almost appearing to die and turn back into inanimate objects as he stacked them on the coffee table. She turned back to Bickslow and nodded, "Ready as I'll ever be." she answered, taking a seat across from the seith mage in a small arm chair Gajeel had fashioned for her. The seat encasing her on nearly all sides as heavy metal studs held fast to any motions or movements.

Bickslow's smile widen even more so than usual as he removed the metal mask from his face. His red eyes baring the same red hue that Gajeel's had, yet contained complete madness with only small sparks of sanity in them. The seith mage leaned in closely to Levy as the script mage readied herself for what ever it was that Bickslow might do. Looking into the man's eyes was always ill advised, but she bit her tongue and was ready to accept what ever form of help he would give, even if it meant allowing to seith mage to tamper in her mind. The man was less than a breaths length away from her making her sit awkwardly as she began to fidget. Bickslow laughed at her actions as his eyes began to spark bright green. Levy had never been so close them as they changed. It was fascinating to see as white rings layered themselves along with the green of his irises. Just as the room began to light up, she felt a heavy weight fall into her hands, making her look down instantly and bringing the seith mage to a hearty laugh. The man seeming more than amused in himself as even his totems joined him.

"W-what is this?" Levy asked as she held a heavy leather book. The cover detailed in fine tool work as a symbol adorned it.

"Uh...well...I'd hope you of all people could recognize a book when you see one." Bickslow said as he leaned back and relaxed onto his palms. His totems each taking their own place on random parts of the man's body.

Pantherlily quickly flew over to Levy and looked at the book himself, "What's the meaning of this? You said you were here to help."

Bickslow laughed as one of his totems attempted to balance on the man's head, "I am. What? You think I'm gonna take over Levy to help? I'm not suicidal. Whenever your little boy toy comes home, I'm pretty sure he's gonna take a swing at me just for smelling me here. If he found out I took over Levy, he'd probably kill me. I'm not some kinda dumbass." Bickslow responded. His totems happily adding in their two cents "Yeah cat. He isn't a dumbass."

Levy patted Pantherlily and smiled, bringing the exceed down from his heightened attitude before turning her attention to Bickslow, "I've read a lot of book already though...none of them are helping..." she said in a dejected tone.

"Oh I doubt you've read anything like this. You'll probably never read one like it again." Bickslow said as he appeared to play with his totems "Why would I ever bring you some book you can read at the library? This is from my personal collection."

Levy suddenly felt a cold sweat run down her back, "Is...is this some kind of cursed book?"

Bickslow shrugged, "Cursed. Blessed. Same thing. The thing attached to that book will be able to give you the answers you're lookin' for though bookworm. Real sweetheart too." he said with almost a slight sarcasm.

"What's attached to the book?" Pantherlily demanded as he removed the book from Levy's hand. His actions making Bickslow and his totems gaze immediately fix onto the exceed.

"Guess you'll have to find out, huh?" Bickslow said "I'm not leaving you here alone with it if that's what you're wondering...I ain't got all day though, so if you don't mind sweetheart...start reading. Just let me know when you're on the last page."

Levy looked at the book reluctantly. The writing written on the cover clearly being in some sort of dead language as the symbol on the center appeared well worn. The book itself must've been ancient, possibly lost in time, yet somehow in the seith mage's possession. She could only assume how he'd come across the book itself. Of the black magic users in the world, Levy hadn't known a single one who hadn't been associated with dark arts. Bickslow was no exception. She sat back comfortably in her secure armchair and opened the book. The binding cracking in almost a satisfying manner. The lack of use very telling in that moment. Pantherlily quickly flew out of the room when he saw that the book was written in some strange language, only to return with a notebook and pen in paw. He handed them over to Levy, who within in hour, would begin to start translating the book.

* * *

Nearly an hour had gone by and Levy had successfully translated the basic alphabet the book was written is. The blunette referring to her notes often as she continued to read. The action slowing her down only slightly as she made her way towards the end of the book. The more she read the book, the less it made sense to her in how exactly it would help Gajeel. Each page spoke widely of warnings. Each expressing the need for the user to stop reading, and that the knowledge they could obtain from the book would do more than teach them to fail. One section of the book, spoke purely of the sins that would be created in reading. In a way, it entertained Levy given her power as a script mage. The book almost described those who could read and write as almost the bane of the world's existence, causing nearly all of it's problems. She visibly rolled her eyes, not thinking her actions would be noticed. However, Bickslow watched every annoyed action and smirked to himself as he lay sprawled across the sofa.

"I'm on the last page Bickslow..." Levy said as she set the book down in her lap, waking Pantherlily from the nap he'd taken. From start to finish, it took Levy nearly three hours to complete the book. The seith mage was more than impressed as it had taken him nearly three months to figure out how to read the book.

"Wooow. Good for you." he said as he sat up on the sofa and placed a cigarette in his mouth, thinking better than to light the satisfying stick in his mouth "Go ahead and read it. Trace the emblem on the cover when you're done." he said, stretching his arms across the sofa as his head tilted to the side. The man seeming to tense up slightly.

Levy looked at the seith mage curiously before dismissing his actions and finishing up the last page. A heavy, thick feeling filled the air of the home as though the density of the air suddenly weighed too much for itself. It was like trying to inhale water and was noticed by everyone in the home. Levy shook her head to try and ignore the feeling as Pantherlily let out the occasional cough. Bickslow closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The seith mage seeming a bit too comfortable in the feeling. It was obvious that it wasn't the first time he'd dealt with what ever it was that was happening and his mannerisms showed that clearly. Finishing up the final sentence, Levy shut the book, gently tracing the odd circles and lines that adorned the cover of the book. Within seconds, the symbol glowed and the book felt as though it were searing the script mage's hands. She tossed the book to the floor as she rubbed her wounded feeling hands together. Bickslow laughing under his breath at her as she shot a glare up at him.

"What the heck was that for?!" she demanded as her stared down the seith mage. Pantherlily watched the book as the heat from it seemed to sizzle away. Neither exceed nor script mage noticing the sudden lightness in the air. Bickslow watched as a figure began to manifest behind the armchair the two seemed to take some sort of security in. His nonchalant attitude agitating Levy as Bickslow's totems giggled quietly. "HEY! Answer me!" Levy shouted.

From the sides of the chair Levy and Pantherlily watched as the figure of a man appeared and picked up the book from the floor. Neither herself, nor the exceed prepared to see any other person in the room. A leather binding was tied tightly to the man's arm and seemed to keep a quill bound tightly in the man's grasp as ink appeared to drip from his upper arm. The hand the man lifted the book with seemed cut with thousands of slivers as though each finger were covered with paper cuts. He brought the book carefully to his face and opened it gently. His almost pale blue eyes seated deeply in his skull. Heavy bags resting under them as though the man seldom rested. All of his almost flawless facial details obstructed by the deep auburn hair that ran long down his back. A loose black robe rested off his pale, unscathed shoulders in an almost feminine manner, exposing his upper chest easily, yet barely hiding the rest of the man underneath it. The man appeared almost beautiful in a way. The man cradled the book no differently than a mother would cradle a newborn, seeming as though he were somehow fiercely protective of the book as his eyes bore holes into Levy's. The air suddenly becoming threatening, Pantherlily quickly changed his form, ready to defend the small script mage from what ever it might be that stood in front of them.

"...a demon..." the exceed said lowly as his lips curled and his sharp teeth became exposed. The actions of Pantherlily seemed to suddenly sadden the man that stood before them, causing the man to turn his back to the pair and turn his attention to Bickslow. The man's back showed evidence of some sort of flagellation. Each mark seeming more painful than the last. Hidden beneath a layer of what seemed to be ink and blood was a set of burned stumps. The pair seeming to been broken painfully before burned off of the man's body.

"..Lily..." Levy said quietly, resting a hand gently on the full sized exceed's back "...I...I think that's an angel." Pantherlily immediately lost his large form and suddenly felt very small.

As those words slipped from Levy's lips, Bickslow stood up quickly, making his way towards the man in an almost jester like manner, snatching the book from the man's arms quickly and stuffing it back into the satchel he'd brought with him. The man standing nearly a full foot taller than Bickslow didn't attempt to fight the seith mage's rudeness or thievery, simply letting the book be stolen. "Ain't he a pretty?" Bickslow said mockingly.

Levy looked towards the seith mage, worrying for her odd quildmate, "...who is this?" she asked, not daring to step foot towards the mysterious figure.

Bickslow threw himself back onto the sofa, "A lost angel of 'God' himself. Otherwise known as Penemue."

The fallen angel turned his attention back to Levy, towering above her. He bent down to meet Levy's gaze from a level point. Gently grabbing Levy's hand, he placed a light kiss on top of her hand, smiling softly before repeating his name. His speech seeming to float gently on the air like a feather in the summer breeze.

"You have called on the fallen angel Penemue, child of man. What teachings can I offer?"


	4. Chapter 4

Gajeel walked through the thick woods, followed somewhat closely by Jet and Droy. The dragon slayer easily able to track and hunt down a forest boar when they had reached their destination simply carried it around, scattering a piece off of it as they walked. Jet had spoken with some locals, giving the trio a better idea of where exactly it was that they should track down the pard. The beast seemed to hang out in the same two or three mile radius, making their job of finding it a lot easier. when it came to finding it.

"Kinda seems like a waste to throw all of that meat to a cat, don't you think Gajeel?" Droy said, almost lusting after the ideal of a nice fresh meal.

"Kinda seems like a waste to give it all to you, dontcha think Droy?" Gajeel fired back, tossing another chunk of bore to the ground just off of the path.

"Jez man. You don't have to be such a jerk about it. Not like you can guarantee that the pard will eat it all." Jet said, consoling his friend's hurt ego.

Gajeel stopped in his tracks, able to smell the heavy scent of a cat, likely the one they were looking for. It must have taken shelter in the area they were in. Gajeel walked off of the path, following his nose to what ended up being an extremely run down shack. The roof of the small building caving in slowly. The scent of cat urine surrounded the area as the pard must have been marking it's territory. Despite not quite being able to put their noses on the smell, both Jet and Droy were able to pick up the odd scent faintly on the wind making their faces turn slightly. Gajeel checked the shack through and through, finding no indications of the animal having been there within the past few hours. Reluctantly he followed the scent to some nearby trees. The small of animal blood had been near the area once, but never in the tree itself, making their jobs a lot easier.

Gajeel turned towards Jet and Droy. His imposing glare making both men lock up for a moment, "We're gonna camp out in the trees tonight. Got it?"

Jet cocked an eyebrow and stared at the dragon slayer in amusement, "Yeah sure. But why?"

"You're gonna stay on the ground Droy." Gajeel then said as he began walking a relative distance away.

Jet and Droy looked back and forth at each other, unsure of exactly what it was that Gajeel was trying to do, "Um, hey. You gonna explain your plan here 'black steel'" Jet said in a sarcastic tone.

Gajeel rolled his eyes as he tossed the boar carcass to Jet as he climbed up into a tree, "Give part of that to Droy and tell him to sit a few meters from the shack. Ideally not in a pile of shit. You start walking back and forth from where we started dropping meat."

Jet tossed the carcass to the ground, quickly jumping up and grabbing Gajeel by the foot and trying to drag the dragon slayer out of the tree, "HEY! You have seriously got to learn how to communicate better Gajeel. What is it you are trying to do? Your plan doesn't make sense right now. What is it that you want us to do?!" Jet said as he lost his temper.

"Yeah don't touch me again unless you're ready to fight." Gajeel said as he hopped out of the tree "Figured you were smart enough to figure it out but what ever. Droy is too slow and heavy to outrun a pard. So, he's gonna sit here and wait for it to come back. If it does, it'll rush him thinkin' he's an easy meal. It ain't like Droy's vines are gonna be able to stop a hungry cat, so I'm gonna wait and trap it."

"Okay, so what's the point in me leaving then?" Jet then asked. The man not wanting to have to hold a dead animal if he didn't have to.

" I don't know where the cat is at this exact moment. Leaving a trail of easy food around should be enough to attract it. If there is a chance to bring it out of hiding, then why not try that too. If it's hungry enough, it'll chase you down. Cats got such a strong prey drive that even if it doesn't want to, it'll chase you. In that case, run back here with it and we'll trap it. Understand?" Gajeel said in a cocky tone. Jet rolled his eyes and lifted the carcass up, handing a larger piece of it to Droy as he made his way back to the trail. Sure enough, Gajeel hopped back up into the tree he had picked and the trio began their wait as evening fell on the area.

Several hours into their hunt and no results had been yielded. Droy had fallen asleep in his boredom nestled slightly off of the ground by some vines and foliage he had conjured together, Jet had sat down nearly a quarter mile form the shack to take a break from his continuous walking, and Gajeel leaned uncomfortably in the tree he sat in. The dragon slayer bored out of his mind began fidgeting with various different studs he conjured through his skin thinking of various ways he could possibly, mess with Levy using the studs. He shook the thoughts from his mind when he heard the slightest of rustling coming from a nearby bush. He prepared to whisper down at Droy, but thought better of it when he realized that what ever was coming out of the bushes might be scared off by him making noise. Much to the dragon slayers surprise a small pair of kits walked out of the bushes. Their bodies lacking the intense patterns pards tended to carry and instead were covered by fine striping.

Cautiously, the two kits creeped towards the sleeping mass that was Droy. The young cats wanting the easy meal that already lay dead next to the sleeping man. Gajeel watched as they ate as quietly next to Droy, amused at just how cautious they were. He laughed internally. Had Droy known about the small kits, he very likely would have panicked. As the dragon slayer sat there observing them, he heard the frantic sound of Jet sprinting closer to the shack. The two kits immediately sunk down low, attempting to blend in with the earth below.

"Holy shit!" Jet said as his blur ran by "Dude! This cat is fast!"

Not even a second behind Jet, the heavily patterned pard ran up, teeth bore readily as it seemed more angry than hungry. It took Gajeel only a second to put two and two together as the pard suddenly caught scent of it's kits and froze. Droy at this point being wide awake from the commotion. As the pard charged at Droy, Gajeel quickly dove into the shadows, able to stop the beast from reaching the heavy set man by holding it's front legs down. The beast ferociously bit at it's own legs as it attempted to remove the shadows that grasped it. Within a second it was surrounded on all sides by a metal cage as Gajeel reappeared. Despite being in the shadows, his hands still took a slight bit of damage from the animal. Jet confidently walked up to the caged beast along with Droy, both men laughing at the trapped cat. Hackles raised, it hissed and swiped it's claws as it sat backed up in a corner of the cage.

"Well that works!" Jet said as he patted Droy on the back.

"It totally did!" Droy said "Don't have to waste any more meat on it either!" Droy then exclaimed as he turned to face the carcass he slept next to only to find Gajeel holding the two kits by the scruff. The moment he touched them, the pard went from backed into a corner, to right up against the cage, clawing and swiping violently at the air, snagging Droy by the waist line of his pants and leaving a large cut.

Jet pulled his comrade away from the cage, "Pretty sure we don't need many of these around Gajeel. Maybe we should...do away with them..." the man said with next to no confidence. He wasn't trying to be cruel, merely realistic.

Gajeel held the two kits, one trying it's damnedest to tear into his skin, the other seeming to have given up, ready to almost accept it's fate, "Not our call. Who ever contracted us can make that call. Besides...looks like momma will kill us all if something happens to her babies." he then said, noticing the icy glare that came from the pard. It's claws seeming to bring static into the air as it started to spark. He placed the kits near the cage and readily the pair ran to their mother who sheltered them immediately. The kits immediately disappearing beneath her mass of fur, their mother backed them up into the corner and watched the trio of men. "Camp out here till morning." Gajeel then said carefully tossing the heap of carcass on the ground into the cage with the pard and kits before hopping back into the tree. Even if it wasn't comfortable, it was the high ground and he preferred it. Moving away from the cage, Droy made both he and Jet a comfortable area off of the ground in a grassy clearing.

* * *

Gajeel awoke sometime in the early morning hours to the sound of the pard growling lowly. The moon giving everything around it a bright whitish blue hue. He saw a person standing next to the pard's cage doing nothing more than standing. Gajeel hopped down quietly and made his way over to the cage, ready to tell the person off for attempting to potentially take the animal or free it. Jet and Droy were both fast asleep in their respective tents making sure the ordeal would be far less dramatic. As Gajeel neared the person, he caught an unusual scent. One that made his skin crawl. It was the smell that could only be found during a mass casualty and burning. Decaying human flesh. He froze in his steps trying to make out any real features of the man. All that he could see was what appeared to be heavily beaten skin and either burnt off or shattered wings.

"My my...what an awful energy you have." the person than said, standing up straighter and turned to face Gajeel.

Gajeel was caught off guard by the man's almost feminine appearance and bindings, "Yeah well you ain't exactly charming yourself." the dragon slayer fired back, his hackles raising off his neck as he watched the man.

The man laughed and with the quill bound to his hand, he quickly wrote something in a book that he seemed to manifest from no where. The action forcing Gajeel down to his knees, "You and this beast have something in common." the man then said "You're both unruly for no reason and hold grudges beyond understanding. Why do you suppose that is?"

"I don't know what you're talkin' about you fucking creep. But the second I figure out how to move, you'll know what unruly is." Gajeel said as he body seemed to forcibly be brought to the ground as the man moved closer.

"Such a prideful thing." the man said as he knelt beside Gajeel. His auburn hair brushing against the dragon slayer softly, making Gajeel buck as hard as he could in an attempt to get up "You'll be fun to watch." the man then said as he stood up, disappearing into the air around them.

As Gajeel shot up to his feet, his eyes opened widely and he realized he was back in the tree. The pard and her kits sitting quietly and undisturbed in their temporary housing. _Was I asleep? _he thought to himself as he shook his head several times. Raising his nose to the air, he tried to determine if the scent that had filled his nose was still around or if it was even real. Nothing unusual sat on the wind. He sat awake until the sun rose over the horizon confused at what it was that he had dreamed about.

* * *

When the men had finally made their way into town, the owner of the pard was more than happy that the beast had kits. They had learned that despite the aggressive nature of the cat, it was infact a dying species. Considered a pest by many, the only way the job would have been filled, is if the owner had lied and stated that it was for a circus when realistically, it was for a personal, possibly failing attempt to save the beast. The owner having hand reared the animal since finding it by the carcass of it's own dead mother.

"Why's she such a jerk?" Jet asked the owner of the pard, confused as to why a hand reared animal would behave in such a way.

"She's not been treated well by man. Given a lot of judgement before being understood. She's very sweet when she knows you though." the owner responded as he stuck his hand into the cage. The pard chuffing at him before rubbing it's head against the iron bars that contained it. "People keep releasing her and forcing her to act in such a way that makes them want to do away with her is all."

When Gajeel walked near the cage, the pard's ears dropped back against it's head as it's hackles rose and it let out a loud hiss, making the dragon slayer smirk, "I get it." he then said before reaching his hand quickly into the cage and grabbing the animal by it's lower jaw and bringing it against the cage. The skin on his arm going immediately to iron as the pard tried to claw at him to get him to release it's jaw, "If I find you wandering around causing trouble again, you'll be makin' me a nice rug so keep your head on straight cat." Gajeel said in a threatening tone. His gaze never leaving the pard's, the beast seemed to settle itself down. With his other hand, Gajeel gestured for payment. The owner of the cat quickly handing over the decent sum of jewel and quickly petting the pard to reassure her that all was well as Gajeel released it's jaw.

When they were out of town, Jet and Droy couldn't help but wonder why Gajeel would suddenly treat the beast in a somewhat cruel manner given that he had been so sparing with it the previous night. They could only assume that it was all for show as they flagged down a carriage to take them back to Magnolia. They wouldn't make it home until nightfall at the rate they were going, but they were still grateful that the job only took a day. Jet splitting the jewel three ways between the men as Gajeel painfully took the sum from Jet before nearly heaving over. Neither Jet, nor Droy would ever understand how such an over powered, overly confident man could be taken out so easily by motion sickness.

* * *

Just as expected, nightfall had come over Magnolia by the time the trio had arrived. Jet and Droy gave Gajeel their goodbyes, only to be half ass waved off by the dragon slayer. As Gajeel walked home, he had this impending feeling that he was being watched from the shadows. Unable to smell anything, he turned around quickly, finding nothing there at all. The odd feeling of paranoia likely having something to do with his dream, he did his best to dismiss it as he walked up to the stretch of road leading to his home. The closer he got to however, the more he was able to catch the scent of the man that he'd seen the night before standing with the pard.

He became nervous as he did his best to walk into the home as opposed to storm into it potentially waking both Levy and Pantherlily. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the typical scent of slightly botched food Levy had cooked and the smells of Levy and Patherlily as the two of them lay on the sofa fast asleep surrounded by a menagerie of books. The scent of the man he'd encountered in his dream appeared to be next to the armchair that Gajeel had fashioned sometime ago. Setting his bag down quietly and shutting the door slowly, he immediately woke Pantherlily. The Exceed giving him a slight bow as he quietly flew upstairs to his designated bedroom.

Gajeel snuck over to Levy as he prepared to lift her off of the sofa no differently than a child when he caught yet another smell in his home: Bickslow. "I leave for a day and you leave me for another freak, huh." Gajeel whispered quietly with a smirk plastered across his face. His question being purely rhetorical, he wasn't expecting an answer as Levy curled up against his chest when he had lifted her fully.

"...he just wanted to make sure you're okay..." she said as she nuzzled in as close as she could to the man. A deep reverberating "hmm" being the only sound Gajeel made as he carefully carried her up the stairs and into the bedroom, laying her softly amongst the many heavy sheets and pillows. Laying himself softly next to Levy, he brought her into himself as much as he physically could. The slight smell of Bickslow on her skin making him more possessive than usual as he nearly smothered the small scripte mage, happy to be back in his home with her.


	5. Chapter 5

Gajeel lay in bed as the morning sun rose higher in the sky. The birds happily singing, demanding that the rest of the world be as ready for the day as them. Levy slept sprawled across the bed, shameless to the world around her. Her sleeping habits no different than any person not having to share a bed as her tiny frame took up a majority of the bed. The smell of a dark coffee brewing caused Gajeel's stomach to knock into itself. Quietly, the dragon slayer left the bed. The pangs in his stomach demanding to be addressed as his appetite woke up. As soon as he stepped out of the bedroom, Pantherlily seemed to be making his way back to the room he stayed in, a coffee and small breakfast sandwich held in his paws.

"Sleeping in today?" the Exceed asked as he crossed paths with his comrade.

Gajeel nodded partly, "Guess so."

Pantherlily nodded before disappearing into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Before too long, Gajeel had finished enough of a breakfast to satisfy both he and Levy. The blunette staying asleep the entire time as he finished his breakfast quickly and made a small plate for her and set it to the side. He set aside a small cup of coffee for her as well. Ruining it with heavy creams and sugars, turning the beverage into nothing more than caffeinated ice cream. Slowly he made his way to the living room, pausing when he entered the area. The smell of cigarettes and various oils lingering in the air. The smell Bickslow left behind always caused Gajeel a bit of stress. Purifying oils shouldn't be paired with an addictive habit as far as the dragon slayer was concerned. That smell would be easy enough to cover up and was the least of his concerns. It was the scent of burning and decay that bothered him. The fact that it was in his home bothered him beyond reason. Initially, he had begun to doubt whether or not he'd actually smelt that scent while out dealing with the pard. That potential dream throwing him for a bit of a confused loop. Smelling it in his home merely confirmed that what ever man he had seen was in fact real.

Grabbing one of his guitars off the wall, he sat on the sofa and stared at the area where the smell was the strongest: on the the floor by the arm chair. While Gajeel understood that Levy was simply trying to help him, he would never in a thousand years want her to potentially get mixed up in the type of black magic Bickslow used. The dragon slayer was no fool to knowing that Bickslow would happily dabble in dark arts alongside black magic, something that was almost expected of any black magic user. The longer he stared at the area on the floor, the more he felt like he was being watched. His face twisted as the scent didn't get any stronger, but the feeling did. Gajeel's ears pricked slightly at the sound of light footsteps on the floor above as he lightly strummed a tune on the guitar he held.

Levy stepped down the stairs, stretching as she reached the bottom. Gajeel laughing audibly under his breath at the sight. Her tiny frame was buried under his large shirt and her hair was a complete disaster. Levy's mannerisms almost seemed childlike as she smiled and waved at the dragon slayer. Gajeel smiled and shook his head, using his head to gesture her towards the kitchen where the food he'd made was ready and waiting for her. After a few minutes, Levy emerged from the kitchen still seeming tired as she clung to the warm beverage in her hand. Gajeel turning into nothing more than a head rest and a means to keep her upright as she sat next to him.

"How did the job go?" Levy said softly. Had Gajeel not had the hearing he did, he would have surely never heard her.

"Too easy." he replied, continuing to pluck the strings below his fingers.

"You weren't too mean to Jet and Droy, were you?" the script mage then asked, setting the now empty mug down and reaching for a book she'd already read.

A wide smirk crossed his face, "...gihee..."

Levy swatted him on the chest lightly, "You need to be nice to them!"

"I was nice." Gajeel responded, using his weight to slowly crush the much smaller woman as he continued to strum.

"Nice by regular people standards." Levy laughed out as she tried to push Gajeel off of her, jabbing the back of the book in her hands into the back of his head.

The pair laughed as Gajeel continued to use his weight to his advantage, eventually smothering Levy under his back, missing a few strums as he messed with his little mate. Pantherlily quietly flew from the stairs to the kitchen, smiling at the lack of maturity unfolding on the sofa before dashing back to his bedroom. The exceed having seen this scene unfold a handful of times and wanting to be no where near the pair when the inevitable ending happened, quickly flying out of his bedroom window.

Levy quickly opened the book in her hands and placed it over Gajeel's face, using it to hold his head down as he loudly sang out "_A touch from your real love, is like heaven taken the place of somethin evil and letting it burn off from the rush_". The book muffling his singing only slightly. Setting the guitar down recklessly Gajeel grabbed hold of Levy's wrists, molding a set of iron cuffs from his own resources. He turned around to face her, being sure to keep the small mage's arms pinned above her head. The book Levy had set across his face falling down and landing on her stomach. Laughing loudly, Levy used her feet in an attempt to again shove him away pressing them against the front of his shoulders as she started to squeak in a laughing panic.

Gajeel let Levy think she was winning the small battle as her small feet dug into his shoulders. One of Levy's feet slipped forcing her leg to be uncomfortably stretched as the other became lodged between herself and Gajeel.

"Ow ow ow ow ow! I'm not that flexible!" she cried out behind laughs "Let me go!"

Gajeel smirked, forcing her lodged leg straight down and subsequently making the leg stuck on his shoulder stretch even further, "C'mon Shrimp. Deep stretches are good for ya. How else are ya gonna get more limber?" Gajeel teased as he forced the stretch further.

Levy let out an almost pained squeal behind her laugh as she tried to bring her leg off of Gajeel's shoulder. She sucked in air randomly as she laughed in a distressed way. Her little pained noises seeming to tickle Gajeel pink. His mind loving the fact that he could be so much stronger than someone, even if he wasn't surprised in anyway. Mercifully, he pulled Levy's leg off her shoulder. The relief from the deep stretch making Levy sigh and laugh before she play dead, letting her body fall limp as she closed her eyes and lay motionless. Knocking the book gently off of her stomach, Gajeel playfully shook her in a half-assed attempt to wake her. Smiling, Levy continue to lay there in her play dead stance.

"Guess if she's dead she ain't opposed to being chewed on." Gajeel said before nibbling carefully on the iron shackles he created, breaking them off before working the exposed areas of her neck. The script mage reacting only slightly with a giggle. The dragon slayer then took the moment to bite carefully at her lip. The bit of flesh flexing into a smile. "That ain't workin' either huh." he then stated resting his weight on his palms. In an instant, he turned one of his hands into a cold iron pillar "Maybe this'll wake her up" he said as he ran the cold pillar up her leg making her bite her lip and recluse into herself. As he ran the cold metal up her leg higher, she jumped.

"OKAY! You win!" She said as she tried to bring her legs back together. Her attempts completely fruitless as Gajeel's size kept her limbs apart.

"Do I really though?" he said as he continued to drag the freezing metal up her leg.

"Gajeel that's really cold." Levy laughed out as she continued to squirm under him. The script mage not wanting the cold iron to travel any higher than it already had.

"Better?" Gajeel said as his hand returned to normal. His warm skin lightly tracing it's way higher up her leg. His fingers eventually finding the tiny bit of fabric separating him from his goals. The small mage below him smiled shyly at him. Her brown eyes never breaking from his deep red eyes "Yeah. That's what I thought." he said, pulling the tiny bit of fabric off of her as he gently lay a kiss on her lips. In a calm frenzy, the dragon slayer worked on removing what little clothing he wore all the while staying focused on Levy, never letting their kiss break. The awkward angles of the sofa not helping in anyway as he kicked his pants off as gracefully as possible. The offending fabric removed from his own skin, he gently forced his way into her core unapologetic ally. The little script mage wrapping her arms around his shoulders, seeming unprepared as she let out a small moan. The little noise setting off sparks in the back of the dragon slayer's head. His gentle motions soon turning more aggressive as he found a better pace for the two of them. Burying his face between her neck and shoulder, he was greeted by the smell of cigarettes and oils instantly making him cringe before choosing to instead rest his forehead on her's as he continued his paces.

Levy's hands struggled to find a place to steady themselves as she did her best not to dig her nails into his back. Almost knowingly, the dragon slayer raised a few iron studs along his back, enough for Levy to find and dig her fingers into and use as a bit of leverage against each thrust he put into her. Without warning, the overwhelming sensation of being watched came over Gajeel. The smell of corpses suddenly filled Gajeel's nose as he did his best not to let it distract him. He shook the feeling off for a brief moment, instead taking in every bit of Levy that he could. For a brief time it worked as the script mage's moans filled his head and he was able to shut out the world. The feeling suddenly intensified again. Had he not known any better, the dragon slayer could swear that someone was watching them from the armchair.

Cracking an eye open and looking in that direction, Gajeel saw nothing and he let out a sigh of relief. The quiet sound of a chuckle suddenly sounded. One he knew didn't belong to anyone in the home, let alone anyone he knew. Glancing back at the armchair, he briefly saw the figure he'd seen while hunting the pard. The auburn haired man's icy stare smiling happily as he sat comfortably in the arm chair. Without a warning, Gajeel's arm quickly formed into a club and he smashed directly into the chair, shattering it and effectively leaving a hole in the wall behind it. He covered Levy entirely with his mass, shielding her from being seen or from potentially getting hit with debris. The script mage having reclused down and using the man's mass to hide.

"What happened?!" Levy said frantically, unable to see passed Gajeel as he covered her.

Gajeel chest rumbling as though he were letting out an inaudible growl, "...nothing...thought I saw something..."

"Sort of a big reaction to seeing something, don't you think?" Levy said able to see some parts of the damage done.

Gajeel faked a smirk, flashing a canine as he drove his hips into her's deeply, "Was in the heat of the moment. Didn't wanna get interrupted." His words and actions being more than enough to silence anymore of Levy's questions as he picked up right where he left off. A decent, yet questionable start to the morning.

* * *

After dropping off all of the collected books Levy had, the pair sat at the guild hall. Levy with Jet and Droy and Gajeel brooding a short distance away. The stout beer he nursed entertaining him enough. The guild was relatively empty. Most teams having left to pick up an odd job, or living their lives normally. Gajeel heard Droy complaining to Levy about becoming bait while showing the script mage the small cut he'd gotten on the job. Levy instantly shooting a glance at Gajeel. The dragon slayer proudly shrugging off the incident entirely as he finished off the beer he had. Kicking his feet up on the table, he leaned back in his chair, forcing Pantherlily out of his spot on the table. Gajeel's mind trying to make heads or tails of exactly what it was he seeing. He hadn't encountered anything recently as far as curses or anything of the sort goes. He didn't like the idea of being watched by something unprovoked, let alone something that could so easily pin him down.

The only thing that Gajeel was certain, was that after he had left, Bickslow had come over to help Levy in regards to the dragon slayer's issues. In what ways he wasn't sure, but he was certain Bickslow had something to do with it. As he brooded, Lisanna happily walked over, grabbing the empty mug in front of him and setting it on a tray that held a few other dirty dishes, "Afternoon Gajeel! Need anything else?" she asked cheerfully, resting a hand on her hip.

Gajeel continued to look forward at Levy and the rest of Shadowgear for a moment before looking at Lisanna, "I do, don't know if you've got it though." he said quietly.

Lisanna smiled widely, "Oh please. We've got so much stuff in the back. It would blow your mind." she stated confidently.

"Need a certain seith mage. Real freaky guy. Mark on his tongue." he said, describing Bickslow subtly.

Lisanna raised an eyebrow as she continued to smile, "You're looking for Bickslow? I'm sure he'll turn up soon enough."

"When?" Gajeel replied with a bit more demand in his tone.

"I don't control the members of the guild Gajeel, how should I know." she said. The confident smile on her face dropping slightly.

Gajeel could hear the nervous pounding in the Strauss' chest and smell the sudden anxiety the young woman gave off. He whispered lowly, "You guys may have Mira, Elfman, and the rest of the guild fooled, but you two literally reek of each other. It ain't the first time either. So...where's he at? I mean, I'm all for secrets, but I love blowin' 'em too. Be a shame if your sister found out this way." Pantherlily smiled at the young Strauss' expense as he listened to the conversation quietly.

Lisanna's eyes widened for a moment as she stumbled over he tongue trying to find the right words to say. She sat down in the chair next to Gajeel before speaking, "He headed to Clover and Oak Town yesterday." the young mage said with a sudden sadness in her eyes "...he said he had 'stuff' to take care of."

Gajeel knew exactly what the seith mage was doing and sympathized with Lisanna for a moment, "When is he gonna be back?"

Lisanna shrugged, "If all goes well, probably a week." she responded, bringing a cheerful smile back across her face "I have a question for you Gajeel."

"Sup?" the dragon slayer said, his curiosity suddenly piqued.

The youngest Strauss leaned in close to the man, "Do you think Laxus knows? I mean, he and Mira are together every night, and he's never said anything."

Gajeel laughed quietly, "Uh, yeah. He may be a hybrid of sorts, but he could probably smell Bickslow the second he was sneakin' into your bedroom window." the dragon slayer teased, immediately making Lisanna blush before she walked back to the bar. With the youngest Strauss gone, Gajeel tried to figure out exactly what path Bickslow would likely have taken, trying to decide whether or not he really wanted to follow the seith mage around Fiore to ask him a question, or simply wait for the man to return home to Magnolia to do so. Suddenly, Levy appeared in front of him, quickly pulling a small pocket book out and sitting on the table in front of the dragon slayer. "Can I help you Shrimp?" he asked, feeling the tension coming from her.

"Yep! We're going to learn some rules about etiquette today." she snapped out, opening up to a chapter titled appropriately and handing it to Gajeel. The dragon slayer cocking an eye brow at her and looking at the small book as though it were in a foreign language "Don't act like you can't read either...I know you're more educated than Natsu." she said as she crossed her arms over her small chest. Gajeel peered behind her, noticing the smirks both Jet and Droy had. The two men seeming proud of gaining their leader's sympathy. Sending a scowl their way, Gajeel was able to knock the cocky looks off of their faces. A light pen tapping him between the eyes bringing his focus back to the small book in his hand. "Read up Mr. Redfox. I'll quiz you later.

* * *

Several days had passed uneventfully. It was the slow season for jobs leaving many of the guild members to figure out their own ways to occupy their time. Gajeel had been kept slightly busy fixing the hole he'd created in the wall of his home, was well as having to fashion another arm chair. To his amusement, it wasn't Levy who complained the most about the loss of the piece of the furniture, but rather Pantherlily. Gajeel had decided against finding Bickslow around Fiore. He knew that on top of being a hassle to find the man, he wouldn't have a good excuse as to why he might potentially be gone for quite a while.

Levy had been absent for the majority of the day, likely catching up on what ever reading she might have found for herself. Pantherlily had been out running his own set of errands, the likes of which Gajeel wouldn't understand. To the dragon slayer, the exceed really was a comrade that was a cat. He couldn't imagine what all Pantherlily could possibly do. Gajeel had settled himself after dinner and again sat quietly playing his guitar. A few riffs from a possible new song itching to be played by him. Eventually, Pantherlily entered the home along with Levy. The two having met by chance on the road to Gajeel's home. The exceed carrying a few of Levy's books in his full from as he seemed to be checking how well the local forge sharpened his blade.

"How was your day, Gajeel?" Levy asked as she happily plopped down in the newly fashioned arm chair.

"Was alright." the dragon slayer responded, resting his arms over his instrument as he slouched on the sofa.

"I see you fixed the wall properly." Pantherlily stated, running his now small paws over the patch as Gajeel nodded.

"You eat yet Shrimp?" Gajeel asked, hanging the guitar back on the wall. Her literature habit had the tendency to take over a days worth of eating and the blunette would often forget to fill her own stomach.

"I ate enough." Levy said with a guilty tone.

"Yeah no ya didn't." Gajeel said, lifting her gently out of the chair and forcing her to make a small meal for herself in the kitchen. The man having left plenty of left overs for both her and Pantherlily. Levy objected for only a moment before her stomach reminded her that she did in fact need food to survive. Pantherlily readily took over the now unoccupied arm chair, settling his now small frame into it happily.

"Gajeel..." the exceed said in an almost whisper. The dragon slayer shot a quick glance to the small man "Bickslow's back in town. Saw him headed to his home." Gajeel nodded at the whispered words before turning his attention back to Levy.

Pantherlily watched the pair carefully, always noticing how carefully the dragon slayer seemed to tiptoe around the small script mage. His comrade really was completely consumed with the guilt he harbored from his past involving the woman but at the same time, wanted nothing more than to be around her. The exceed wanted nothing more than to see his friend flourish as a person, but constantly watched the man struggle internally with his own demons. Despite all of that, Pantherlily wasn't sure if he liked the route Levy had taken behind Gajeel's back. The entire encounter with Penemue sat with the exceed in an uncomfortable way, yet for his friend's sake, he would bite his tongue. Pantherlily could only hope that what ever Penemue had in mind, wouldn't come back to haunt all of them in the end. Since meeting with Bickslow and encountering the fallen angel, all Pantherlily knew, was that he felt as though all of them were being watched under a microscope when ever around Gajeel. Now not being any different. He knew with certainty Gajeel could feel the same feeling and he was certain that it was the cause of the dragon slayer destroying the chair and wall to start. For now, he would have to keep his mouth shut. Something that bothered the warrior beyond belief.

* * *

Bickslow fell heavily onto Lisanna's back, his forehead resting heavily between her shoulders A few flashes of green trying to escape from behind his closed eyes. The pair drenched in sweat as they gasped for breath sank down to the bed slowly. A laugh leaving the pair of them as the sparks of the honeymoon phase made their entire situation feel even better. The two of them becoming better and better at sneaking Lisanna out of her home and easily into his, wasted not time in making up for any lost time they may have had. Bickslow rolled gently off of the woman, bringing her into his side as he lit a cigarette. The man fully enjoying everything about his life at the moment.

"That...won't ever get old." he said, kissing Lisanna on her forehead before taking a drag off of the cigarette.

Lisanna nodded as she finally began to catch her breath, "Completely agree." she said "I just wish we didn't have to keep it a secret."

Bickslow shrugged, "We really don't. That's your call though sweet cheeks."

"Yeah." she responded as she lay comfortably on the seith mage's pectoral "You know, Gajeel knows."

"No shit?" Bickslow said finishing off the cigarette "Can't be surprised there. Those dragon slayers can smell everything from like a mile away."

"I guess so" Lisanna chuckled out as sleep started to tug at her "You should know he was looking for you the other day."

"Who? Gajeel?"

"...yeah..." Lisanna said quietly, her body weight sinking into Bickslow's pectoral.

"Huh. I saw his cat earlier today."

Bickslow rested the top of his cheek on Lisanna's head, waiting for the young woman to fall asleep a bit deeper. Adjusting his eyes, he watched her soul as it's quick spinning and dances slowed as it danced around small slivers of his own. It was always interesting for him to see souls dance around each other. The light blue of her soul shown as near white, contrasting brightly against the muddled greens and reds that made up his own. Regardless of the contrast, he wouldn't trade it for anything. The image eventually lulling the seith mage to sleep.

Several hours later, Bickslow woke suddenly to the feeling of the air around him thickening. He quickly looked around the room looking for any souls that shouldn't be around. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark shadow with a bright red and grey core sitting unmoving. He immediately knew who it was and rolled his eyes. The shadow suddenly dashed across the floor and stood next to him, looming ominously. "Gonna have to try harder to scare me black steel." Bickslow whispered, carefully moving Lisanna off of him and making sure she was still comfortably asleep before he stood up out of the bed and walked to the living room. The dark shadow following him with some distance.

"You couldn't put clothes on at least freak?" Gajeel then said as his normal form appeared.

"Uh, you broke into my house. You see what you do at your own risk." Bickslow responded as he leaned against one of the walls in his living room, reigniting a small bead of oil. He then lit a cigarette and took a heavy drag off of it, waking himself up slightly before turning his attention back to Gajeel "So...why're you here?"

Without warning, Gajeel dashed towards the seith mage, holding the man by the jaw tightly and forcing Bickslow's head up slightly as he pressed him into the wall. The action drawing a wide smile across Bickslow's face. Gajeel's hair began to stand on end, "What the hell did you do while I was out?"

**Song referenced: "Cherry"- Lana Del Rey**


	6. Chapter 6

"What the hell did you do while I was out?" Gajeel exclaimed in a quiet, threatening tone. The words barely slipping out from between his grit teeth. Despite being slammed into the wall behind him by the dragon slayer, a wide smile crossed over Bickslow's face. Without any warning, Gajeel suddenly felt nauseous as he shut his eyes tightly to fight the feeling away. When he opened his eyes again, it was as though the world around him were covered in a thick dense fog and Bickslow had disappeared. Even extending an arm outward made Gajeel's hand disappear in the fog. Gajeel's stomach continued to twist violently, making him shake his head desperately to figure out what was happening.

"Ya know...you dragon slayers all have the same issue." Bickslow said. His voice echoing around Gajeel, making it impossible for the man to pinpoint where exactly it was that the seith mage was standing "...all of you like to stare right in the eyes of people you attack. I'm thinkin' that's gotta be some kinda dominance thing, right?" Bickslow suddenly appeared in front of Gajeel, tilting his head mockingly at the nauseated man. Without hesitating, Gajeel immediately swung a punch at Bickslow. The seith mage doing no more than closing his eyes as he laughed quietly. Gajeel's fist went straight through Bickslow, making the seith mage disappear no differently than sand in the wind. Bickslow's laugh echoed around Gajeel, agitating the nauseous man even more. "You're all temperamental as hell also." Bickslow said as he tapped Gajeel on the shoulder. Gajeel wasting no time to again try and hit Bickslow.

The fog around Gajeel seemed to become even more dense as the air suddenly felt heavy and unbreathable. The ground he stood on turned into a thick black sludge, and he felt himself sinking into it slowly, "Where the hell are you?!" Gajeel shouted, trying to dislodge his feet from the sludge as he began to sink. Slipping, his arm was soon caught in the thick material. He could feel Bickslow's eyes on him from every angle as he struggled to move and felt himself being pulled down quickly. It wasn't often that he felt fear, but it was in that moment he suddenly felt as though his life were coming to an end.

"Uh, currently I'm in my house. More specifically, in the living room...watching you lay on my living room floor. By the way. You puke on my floor and I'm gonna kill you." Bickslow said, standing directly in front of Gajeel in the dense fog. He crouched down and looked the dragon slayer in the eyes. The seith mage easily able to stay afloat on the dark sludge. A green shimmer flickering from his eyes.

"...the hell you talkin' about freak..." Gajeel responded as his shoulder sank down further into the sludge. His whole body nearly covered in the filth "What the hell am I stuck in?"

Bickslow looked around for a moment, having a moment of realization, "Ah. Yeah. See, you may have me beat as far as brute strength goes, but..." he then said pointing to his eyes "...you're stupid enough to stare at me when you attack. SOO. Welcome to the last thing people see before I take those pretty little souls that are stuck in 'em. I forget that you guys see what ever fun hell you create in your heads."

Gajeel let out a nervous laugh, disguising it as confidently as possible, "Tch. You wouldn't kill a guild member."

Shrugging, Bickslow responded, "Eh. I can make exceptions. I already told you to watch your shit. You aren't."

"How you gonna explain THIS to Makarov?" Gajeel said as his face was slowly being drawn into the sludge.

"I'm not." Bickslow responded, standing up and walking away slightly "...now than. You gonna attack if I get you outta there?" The seith mage's figure disappearing into the fog.

"Seems smarter not to." Gajeel responded. His face soon overtaken by sludge. In a single flash, the dragon slayer found himself face down on the wood floor. The world around him spinning wildly as though he were drunk. Bickslow loudly slammed a trash bin next to Gajeel's head, startling him as he looked up at the still nude seith mage. The look on Bickslow's face being that of annoyance as the cigarette in his hand seemed to have been broken in half. "The hell is that for?" Gajeel asked, preparing to move the bin out of his face. Bickslow's expression dropped as he held up three fingers. He counted them down. No sooner than the third finger fell did Gajeel find himself overwhelmed with nausea. The dragon slayer immediately vomiting into the trash. Bickslow laughed and shook his head at the sight.

"Stay here for a second." Bickslow stated as he left the area to head back to his bedroom. The seith mage knowing that Gajeel would be stuck over the trash bin for at least a few minutes. When he finally returned, the seith mage was at least partially dressed. The sweat pants he wore barely staying put where they were as they sagged heavily. "SO. You asked what I did while you were gone. The answer? Nothing. I haven't done a damn thing."

Gajeel sat up on the floor. His back resting on the back of a small sofa. The contents of his stomach now gone entirely, he was hit with a wave of exhaustion. Leaning back, he caught his breath. His eyes lightly sealed shut. The gentle sound of soft foot steps filled his ears as a new smell filled his nose. A gentle nudge on his shoulder being enough for him to open his eyes, the gentle blue eyes of the youngest Strauss met his harsh red eyes as she knelt before him. A glass of water in her hands, she offered it to him sympathetically. The expression on Lisanna's face being nothing short of mercy as she stood wrapped entirely by the cloak Bickslow wore often. Gajeel readily accepted and drank the water down quickly. Lisanna smiled as she rose from the floor and headed to Bickslow. Gajeel watched exactly how the pair before him interacted. Lisanna gently placed a hand on the seith mage's face, whispering the words "be nice" into his ear before placing a kiss gently on his cheek. A smirk crossed Bickslow's face as he mouthed the word "sorry" out, his eyes never once leaving the dragon slayer on the ground as Lisanna waved at Gajeel and went back to the bedroom. Bickslow opened up the front door to his home and stepped out, gesturing for the dragon slayer to follow.

As both men stood outside, the smell of an impending rain filled the air as Bickslow lit two cigarettes, handing one over to Gajeel. The dragon slayer's face twisting at the paper and tobacco in his hands. The smell being a bit overwhelming for him, he still took a drag, calming his nerves and stomach quickly. After a few moments of silence, Gajeel spoke.

"You being honest with me, freak?."

"I ain't got a reason to lie to you man." Bickslow said as he leaned against his home "Not like I wasn't invited in either. Was definitely asked to come after you left."

Gajeel shook his head, "Okay fine. What did LEVY have you do while I was gone?"

Bickslow chuckled to himself, "Oh the little bookworm. She's adorable in her own ways. She wanted help with you. Nothing too out of the norm."

"And?" Gajeel said as he leaned against the home as well.

"The girl's so hooked on books. Thinks your cure is hidden between some pages." Bickslow said as he smiled at the sky.

Gajeel shook his head, "So what does that have to do with you?"

Bickslow flicked his finished cigarette to the ground, crushing any remaining embers away, "Nothing honestly. She's a smart girl. I brought her the only book I know of that will have all the answers she'll ever need. Granted, I wouldn't personally use 'em for what she is using 'em for, but what ever works for her."

Gajeel sneered for a moment, "Look freak. You know Levy's book smart. She ain't all that street smart though. What EXACTLY did you give her."

Bickslow huffed a large breath before looking at his hands, "I'd be happy to show ya, but go figure, the damn thing disappeared while I was gone. Not really happy about that, but you know. What ever...Hopefully Levy doesn't have it..."

"Why shouldn't she have it?" Gajeel asked, becoming increasingly concerned.

"You really want your little lady keeping books housing angels? More specifically the kind kicked out by 'god'? Those are just a bunch of pissed off souls looking for a weak person to wreck. Or not. Depending on their mood and what deal you struck with 'em." Bickslow's gaze fell in a guilty manner to the ground below him. His smile dropping into a far more serious look, one that could easily be mistaken for a sadness "...shit no one should really dabble in..."

Gajeel watched the man in silence for a brief moment. His hands wanting no more than to beat the seith mage where he stood. For Bickslow to admit that what ever he'd given to Levy was dangerous, meant the man knew what he was doing was. Gajeel drew in a large breath, attempting to calm his raging nerves, "You saying she struck a deal with a demon on your watch?"

Bickslow shook his head, "Nah. Not a demon. Fallen angel."

"Is there even a fucking difference?" Gajeel said rolling his eyes.

"She'd be dead if it were a demon. Can't really tell you what kind of deal she struck though."

Gajeel cocked an eyebrow, "Why the hell not?"

"Ain't in the mood to get involved with THAT sort of thing right now. Ain't my place to." Bickslow said as he stretched his muscles out. "This little issue you got is between you and her. So what ever she has in mind to help your ass out, well. I suggest you buckle down and get ready for it."

Gajeel's fist quickly turned into an iron pillar, striking the seith mage squarely in the jaw and knocking him to the ground before running over and kicking the grounded man hard. Bickslow soon being treated as nothing more than a punching bag as Gajeel beat the man for a short time. The sounds of his fists clashing into the seith mage drowned out by the thunder above. Gajeel sucked in air in an almost blind rage as he glared at the seith mage, watching as the beaten man hobbled to his feet. His mouth and scalp bleeding heavily from it all. "...you better pray that nothing happens to Levy 'cause of this bullshit..." was all Gajeel said before quickly disappearing into the night's storm. The dragon slayer's form disappearing with the shadows.

Bickslow leaned heavily against his home, "No sense in praying black steel!" he said with a heavy laugh. The blood from his scalp stinging his eyes as he wiped it away. He slid back to down to the ground. The seith mage wasn't used to not putting up a fight at all and willingly forfeiting. He knew he deserved the beating he'd received, and even if he didn't want to get involved, he needed to. None of the seith mage's belongings needed to be in the hands of anyone of innocence or wandering the streets. He laughed quietly as the ran began to pour. His totems each seemed to peer out of the slightly ajar front door like small children who'd snuck out of bed. "I see you there babies..." Bickslow said, smirking at the small gang of totems. Lisanna soon peering out with them. The sight of a downed Bickslow making her panic as she ran out and tried her best to get Bickslow to his feet.

"Bickslow! What happened?!" she said as she frantically wiped the blood from the man's face.

Bickslow looked up at Lisanna, a wide bloody smile across his face, "Just playin' nice sweet cheeks...just playin nice."

* * *

Gajeel slipped into his home silently. The rain poured heavily from the skies, soaking him from head to toe. The man's hot tempered nature seeming to keep him from feeling the chill in the air. His home was dark. Every bit of light having been snuffed out before he snuck out. Stepping into the bedroom, Levy was exactly how he'd left her: curled comfortably beneath a mountain of heavy sheets. He ran his fingers along her cheek, moving a few stray hairs from her face. His cold fingers startling the little mage as she slept, "...cold...iron..." she said softly as she flinched. Her expression looking as though she were bracing for a hit. Gajeel smirked at the sight as he retracted his hand slowly.

"Where did you go?" a soft, heavy voice said in the darkness. The small form of Pantherlily lurking in the shadows of the bed.

"I'll deal with you in the morning Lily...out now." Gajeel said. He watched as Pantherlily reluctantly left the room. The gentle rolling thunder that sounded in the skies above clearly making the exceed nervous. With the bravest face he could put on, the exceed went back to his room, his paws covering his ears as bravely as possible as he shut the door.

Gajeel left the bedroom and started a warm bath for himself in the dark. Even twilight had just begun, the man was soaked from head to toe and needed to clean himself up a bit. The seith mage's blood still leaving small trails on his skin and clothing. Just as Gajeel thought to enter the large ceramic bathtub, he paused. Even if he skin was icy cold, he wasn't going to bathe in the dark alone. His mind was too busy to be alone. He went back to the bedroom and carefully uncovered Levy. The small woman was covered largely by another one of the man's clean shirts, being far too shy to sleep nude or what Gajeel would consider comfortably. He lifted her off of the bed easily, startling her partially awake. His cold, damp skin going almost unnoticed by the little mage.

"...where are we going?" Levy asked, attempting to bury herself in his cold skin. Moving her face away when the temperature was far from comforting.

"Taking a bath." Gajeel said as he set the tiny mage down to her feet in the bathroom.

"But it's so early." Levy said. The dark bathroom not giving her any indication of what time it was.

"That's what happens sometimes." Gajeel responded before carefully trying to pull his shirt off of the script mage. His actions making Levy immediately wake from her partial sleep standing.

"No no..." she said trying to pull the shirt back down "Don't look."

Gajeel rolled his eyes and smirked, "It's almost pitch black in here. Can't see shit, Shrimp." His voice giving the small woman some reassurance as she was undressed. Again, he lifted her off her feet, seating himself down in the almost too warm water and bringing Levy down with him. She jumped for a moment at the temperature of the water before settling down into it. She leaned up against Gajeel, warm, comfortable, and secure as she was being lulled back to sleep by the dragon slayer's rhythmic, quiet breathing. Gajeel sat still, letting the warmth of the water bring his skin back to a normal temperature. Any remnants of the night's previous affairs having been washed away.

The sound of the rain pattering outside being almost drowned away as Levy fell back to sleep. The sounds of her steady heartbeat and breathing making Gajeel almost feel a pang of guilt at the idea of having to wake her back up. He let himself sink a bit further into the tub, pushing Levy up with him. The script mage small enough to almost stretch out comfortably in the large tube as she rested.

"Hey Shrimp." Gajeel said quietly, his words more than enough to bring Levy back to a more conscious state.

Levy rested her back heavily into his chest, "Hmm?"

"Whatchu been readin' lately?" he asked, trying to ease in the next conversation.

Levy giggled under her breath, "Nothing you would like."

"You don't know that." Gajeel responded, wrapping an arm around Levy's collar.

"You barely like to read the stuff that is interesting. Trust me, you wouldn't like any of it." Levy responded as her head rested comfortably against Gajeel's chest.

"Not true at all. I'm pretty damn interested to read anything Bickslow brings around my house." he said. The once peacefully resting script mage now suddenly tense at the words that came from her dragon slayer's mouth. Gajeel instantly able to hear the nervousness in her heartbeat and smell the sudden anxiety.

Levy laughed nervously, "What are you talking about Gajeel?"

"I ain't an idiot Levy. I could smell the guy as soon as I stepped in the house. Could smell something else too...just don't know what it was."

"That doesn't mean the two are connected Gajeel." Levy said as she failed to cover up her tracks "The house has lots of smells...and you know my cooking isn't the greatest."

"Levy..." Gajeel said quietly "...it does in this case. Already talked to that freak about it too. You struck a deal with something that goes hand in hand with black magic."

Levy shrunk slightly under his grip, "...but if it helps..."

"Not everything is helped with books Levy. Everything ain't always textbook. Can't think of a single thing that can be fixed with black magic either. Some shit just takes time to fix..."

Levy sat still. Nervous to move, "But if you can speed up the time it takes to fix something, wouldn't you do it? If Bickslow can see the problem and manipulate it, why not use it?"

Gajeel shrugged, "Look...Shrimp...Bickslow can't fix shit like this the way you think. The guy's literally no different than a death dealer as far as I'm concerned with what he really does. He'd have been great for Phantom Lord. Woulda got shit done quick just by preying on weak souls. Maybe he can see some messed up memories, but that doesn't make it smart to dabble in what he does. Who knows what state his own soul is in and how twisted it might be or what he's bargained with. You playin' into his magic isn't gonna help anyone. Break what ever deal you struck with...what ever the hell it is and give his book back."

"What do you mean? I don't have his book." Levy said as she sat in shame.

Gajeel paused for a moment before leaning his head back against the tub, "So we've got some book with some demon attached to it that YOU bargained with floating around somewhere."

"Well.." Levy said quietly "...it was more of a fallen angel but..."

"Is there REALLY a difference..."

The pair sat quietly in the water. Levy too nervous to move off of the man as she stayed leaning against him. His heart beat sounding loudly in his chest, but steady as ever. Levy was unsure of what to do. As far as she knew, the book she'd read and Penemue, who'd been attached to it would do nothing short of help. Although she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the fallen angel since their initial encounter. She hadn't the heart to tell Gajeel what she had bargained off in exchange for helping his mind settle with his past. She only hoped that it would help.

"...are you mad..." she asked. Her words nearly drowned out by the pattering of the rain outside.

"Completely pissed off Shrimp...Not sure if I'm more pissed at you or Bickslow." the words that came from his mouth nearly bringing the small woman to tears. She wanted nothing more than to help Gajeel, not enrage him. Feeling her huge change in demeanor, he wrapped her tightly in his arms as the pair sat in silence. The loud thunder outside seeming to express it's anger for the man. The feeling of eyes upon Gajeel making him turn his attention to the bathroom mirror. For a brief moment, he thought he saw the same man he'd seen smiling happily at the pair.


End file.
